India will eye redemption when they take on newly-crowned world champions Germany in their FIH Men’s Hockey Pro League fixture here on Friday. Led by star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian team had made a shock last-16 exit in the World Cup held in January.
“Every match at this stage is challenging for us, especially when the oppositions are Australia and Germany,” said the India skipper, who is currently one of the three joint top-scorers in the tournament. “However, it’s good for us that we are getting to play such challenging matches as our focus is on Asian Games. So, we will make sure that we improve as a team by playing such games and give our best in the future,” Harmanpreet added.
India were at their wasteful best and failed to make use of their most circle entries (155) in the World Cup. This is India’s first match after the departure of Graham Reid. Craig Fulton was named as their coach but the South African is expected to join the team later.
Interim coaches David John and BJ Kariappa will be at the helm for the four matches. Following their World Cup debacle, India have axed senior players Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh and Amit Rohidas, while goalkeeper Krishan Pathak will be missing due to his wedding. Having elevated to vice-captaincy, Hardik Singh said India will tweak their strategy but their core values will remain the same.
“There will be minor changes to our strategy, but our core values and principles of the team will remain the same. Also, we will not only focus on our attacking style of play but also work on keeping the possession,” Hardik said.